Missions of Civil Defence Forces

After World War II the Soviet government was taking significant measures on defence of the population and industry against new possible invasions. Particular attention was focused on protection against mass destruction weapons, specifically against nuclear ones.

This mission was carried out by the Local Air Defence which in 1961 was reorganized into the Civil Defence System of the Soviet Union. In 1971 the Civil Defence System was placed under the command of the Ministry of Defence. The Civil Defence Forces integrated with the Armed Forces. Their status and standards of physical training were identical with the motorifle troops.

Initially the task of the Civil Defence Forces was to carry out technical military tasks in support of the civilian civil defence effort. The Civil Defence Forces provided such operations as bomb disposal, mine clearing, decontamination, and maintenance of essential communications. But they were poor in dealing with natural disasters which were increasing every year and involving more and more losses. To solve this problem the Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters was formed and the Civil Defence Forces were subordinated to it. So, at present the Civil Defence Forces carry out not only military civil defence missions but they also eliminate the effects of natural and man-made disasters, large scale accidents, and other emergencies.

 

 

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GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF DISASTERS AND EMERGENCES

 

The most general classification of the disasters is according to their nature and causes. We can define natural and industrial catastrophes or man-made emergencies.

Natural disasters are caused by the forces of nature: earthquakes, floods, droughts, landslides, hurricanes, cyclones are among them. Tsunamis, tornados, volcano eruptions and wildfires are also included into the list of natural disasters. These disasters cause enormous loss to life and property.

Human activity strongly influences the environment too and the more industries develop, the more often the industrial disasters happen. The disasters are in the form of accidents, which occur all of a sudden and take a huge toll on life and property. Mostly such disasters cause injuries, diseases and casualties where they occur. When the disasters are due to carelessness of human or mishandling of dangerous equipments they are called man-made disasters. Common examples of these disasters are train accidents, aeroplane crashes, collapse of buildings, bridges, mines, tunnels, etc. All of us know about radioactive catastrophe at the Chernobyl power plant. Chemical disasters, fires, explosions and etc. also threaten our lives, nature and the environment.

Man-made disasters are mainly of two types:

- local disasters are small-scale disasters such as train accidents, plane crashes and shipwrecks

- industrial and technological disasters that are much larger in scale and are the result of technology failures or industrial accidents. Such disasters affect both local population and may even cover a much larger area.

Man-made disasters can be minimized to a large extent by adopting the following measures:

1. Proper training of personnel working in the hazardous industries.

2. Proper maintenance and care of safety measures.

3. Removing human encroachments around hazardous industries.

4. Making the people aware about the first-aid methods in case of accidents.

5. Applying wet cloth over the mouth and nose in case of gas leakages minimizes the health hazards.

6. Remaining indoors in case of radioactive accidents.

7. Providing the people with proper medical care, in some cases throughout their life.

8. Providing adequate compensation to the affected people by way of money and employment.

Several types of human activity interact with geophysical processes to affect the atmosphere in ways that engender crisis situations. The most obvious example of local effects is urban air pollution resulting from automobile emissions, home heating and cooling, and industrial processes. Air pollution is one of those problems to which almost everyone in the urban area contributes. Acid rain is an example of pollution of a regional atmospheric commons.

Industrial processes release pollutants, which can then interact with the atmosphere and be washed out by rainfall. Leakage of toxic chemicals from the industries and accidents in the nuclear reactors has short-term and long-term effects on the environment and human health. Short-term effects on human health relate to casualties and diseases like blindness, cancer, paralysis, heart trouble, gastric and respiratory abnormalities. Long-term effects include genetic imbalances in humans and its impact on the future generations. Soil and water sources also remain polluted for long durations of time.